Learning & Development: Superhero Books - Zap! Pow!

Superhero stories are traditionally associated with fast-moving media - television, film and computer games. However, it is worth remembering that such stories are not new. Spiderman began life as a comic early in the 20th century, as did many of the characters that have become favourites of the screen in more recent times.

Children who exhibit an interest in such characters do so not least because the stories are intriguing and exciting, and the superheroes have fascinating, complex personalities. Superhero play helps children explore concepts such as the triumph of good over evil, the notion of heroism and the possibilities that arise from possessing physical prowess that are almost beyond belief.

Many practitioners can find superhero play difficult to manage, unsure of effective ways to intervene that will support and enhance children's play. Having a range of good books at your fingertips helps support children in a variety of ways, showing that you value their interests, feeding their imaginations and offering a forum for discussion about many of the issues that arise from such play.

Young children are likely to bring evidence of their interest in superheroes into the setting. Tiny, precious figures, comics and magazines demonstrate their interests, concerns and preoccupations. The figures become the heroes of a range of narratives constructed by the children, who cleverly interweave everyday objects and fantasy toys to create a wide range of adventure stories.

Traction Man Is Here by Mini Grey is a must-have for such occasions. This fabulous picture book tells the story of an action hero who arrives with his new owner one Christmas morning. After exploring the 'foamy waters of the sink' and narrowly avoiding the evil intentions of the poisonous dishcloth, he befriends a trusty sidekick in the form of Scrubbing Brush.

Traction Man's image is severely threatened by the Christmas gift that he receives from Grandma - a knitted green romper suit. Despite losing his street credibility, Traction Man triumphs with the help of his trusty friend, rescuing a group of spoons.

This is a story that will deeply engage young children, particularly if they are allowed to spend time poring over the wonderful illustrations, spotting the tiny details and delighting in such unusual things as a slice of toast that has eyes!

Adding action figures and a range of simple props such as spoons, wool and a scrubbing brush to your block play area could produce a wide range of stories, from both girls and boys.

Scribe the stories for the children and add drawings or photographs to create your own Traction Man adventures. There is now a sequel to this wonderful book, Traction Man Meets Turbo Dog, which is equally engaging.

INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES

An unusual take on the superhero theme is a truly magical book entitled Naughty Bus. Like Traction Man, the author of the toys' adventures is a little boy. This time our hero is a bus, not an action figure. The illustrations are very cleverly taken photographs and the print incorporates all kinds of devices to engage the children with the print.

The bus has a series of incredible adventures with his intrepid owner, but finishes the day quietly tucked up in bed, safe and sound. The great potential of this book lies in the last page of all, which reads 'Did I tell you, sometimes I'm a night bus?' In my opinion this is a wonderful invitation to encourage children to create bus (or car, or train, or taxi) adventures of their own.

As well as playing with small-world superhero figures, there can be no doubt that recreating such characters in role play is deeply satisfying for children. The assignation of roles can be a complicated issue. Deciding who will be the hero, who will be the sidekick and who takes the role of the baddie can be the subject of much debate and discussion.

In Superheroes, The Adventures of Max and Pinky, such aspects of play are brilliantly explored with humour in both text and illustrations. Pinky decides that he doesn't always want to be the sidekick, and storms off, only to return later as the hero of the piece.

The cartoon-like illustrations and the speech bubbles, with various witty asides from the small animals watching the goings-on, all add to the appeal of this charming book, which could inspire a wide range of activities.

In another book called Max by Bob Graham, a baby superhero is born to parents who have high expectations for his future. However, he conspicuously fails to live up to them, and, initially, finds himself ostracised at school because he is different.

This charming book echoes many of the difficulties faced by the more famous superheroes such as Spiderman and the Fantastic Four. Despite having amazing powers, it can sometimes be difficult to live up to expectations, and to develop a sense of responsibility about using power wisely, and with responsibility.

Having super powers may not always be easy, as this book clearly shows. Max eventually uses his powers to rescue a baby bird and receives suitable accolades.

Incidentally, a more recently published book, also by Bob Graham, called How to Heal A Broken Wing also explores the issues surrounding rescuing a bird. This would be excellent to use alongside Max.

DARING DEEDS

Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero is a quiet, unassuming schoolboy by day. But as soon as the clock strikes midnight he is transformed into someone who returns escaped lions to the zoo, and performs daring deeds that include rescuing the world from a massive meteor.

If you choose to share this book with young children, make sure that you spend some time examining the end papers of the book which not only show Eliot's designs for fantastic machinery of all kinds, but also show his calling card. Who knows what kinds of exciting designs this book might inspire in your junk modelling area!

On a similar theme, Nat Fantastic tells the story of a little boy who has adventures of the superhero kind in that magical time between waking and sleeping. Readers who look carefully will notice the delicious way that Nat's toys and other personal belongings (shown in the illustrations) participate in his adventures.

SuperHero ABC by Bob McLeod is an alliterative alphabet of invented superheroes and heroines that children are bound to enjoy. They can find out which Superhero begins with the same letter as their name. Will it be Rain Man, Sky Boy, or even Water Woman, who winks at waves and whales?

Young children who are also developing an interest in and awareness of letters and sounds, will particularly enjoy this vibrant book. Make time to observe a group browsing through this text and you will no doubt gain a valuable insight into their understanding of the relationship between spoken and written language.

REAL-LIFE HEROES

Picture books that explore the deeper issues that underpin superhero stories can be invaluable in supporting and developing discussion around such topics as strength, heroism and fearlessness.

Avocado Baby by John Burningham is a classic picture book that tells the tale of a baby that grows strong on avocados. The baby uses his strength for all kinds of incredible tasks, including moving a piano and catching a burglar.

Walking in the park with his older brother and sister, the baby overcomes two bullies by throwing them into a pond. This episode would make an excellent topic for discussion. Should the baby have used his strength in this way? Was it the right thing to do? Would you like to have such a baby in your house? The final page of the book shows the baby lying contentedly in his carry cot - a very reassuring ending indeed.

Many practitioners would want to use children's interests in super-heroes to talk about 'real-life' heroes. This needs to be done sensitively, without imposing any adult ideas on the children. Two books that would be invaluable for such a discussion about real life are My Dad and My Mum by children's laureate Anthony Browne.

Dad swims like a fish and eats like a horse, while Mum can sing and dance wonderfully well. Due to the way that text and illustrations are combined, these books would make an excellent addition to any book corner, and would provide a great deal of pleasure.

Next time you observe some 'superheroes' in your setting, make sure that you have some 'super' stories to share with them; you will be both valuing and enhancing their play.

BOOKS ABOUT SUPERHEROES
- Traction Man Is Here by Mini Grey (Red Fox)
- Superheroes, The Adventures of Max and Pinky by Maxwell Eaton III
(Alfred A Knopf Books)
- Eliot Jones, Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer and Alex Smith
(Scholastic)
- Max by Bob Graham (Walker Books)
- Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod (HarperTrophy)
- Nat Fantastic by Giles Andreae and Katharine McEwen (Orchard Books)
- My Dad by Anthony Browne (Doubleday)
- My Mum by Anthony Browne (Doubleday)
- Avocado Baby by John Burningham (Red Fox)
- Naughty Bus by Jan and Jerry Oke (Little Knowall Publishing).